September 15th, U6 Sharks Girl Power Day!

     At our last practice the girls on the U6 sharks insisted on playing together against the boys in our end-of-practice scrimmage.  We only had one goal available so I had them playing a version of the game where each team takes turns attacking then defending.  All the defending team has to do is get the ball out of bounds then they go to the circle and become the attacking team.  This game is inherently unfair as it's much easier for the defending team to succeed than it is for the attacking team.  That's intentional though, as what this version of the game re-enforces is the need to possess the ball rather than simply kicking it.  Controlled, aggressive attempts to get the ball in close to the goal are rewarded with shot opportunities.  Wild "big" kicks are rewarded with an almost immediate loss of the ball.
     Well the girls, led by Hailey, got it the idea pretty quick, keeping the ball close, trying to penetrate the defense with their moves rather than trying to kick the ball past the defenders.  Hailey scored twice and I think Ashley had a goal too.  The boys, unfortunately didn't quite get it and in fact they sort of tried to double down as the game went on.  By the time they were down three to nothing the boys were starting out every kick-off with some sort of pointless blast and so they were giving the ball away over and over again.  Hopefully they ultimately learned something from this.
     On Saturday I decided to let the girls play as a group again and recruited Micah to fill out the side by taking a turn in as keeper.  They came on very strong and as in practice their play was characterized by a lot of energetic but fairly controlled runs into the other team's side that resulted in more than a few goals in that first quarter.  Hailey had two then Ashley and Ava each added one.  Micah was rock-solid in at keeper too.
     When the boys came on for the second quarter they played strong too and did so with much more control than they had been showing at practice.  The ball control skills that Diego and Jagger have right now are very impressive and I like seeing them trust in that ability, knowing that they can take on any defender rather than just kicking the ball away.
     Great game little Sharks.

     The U8 Sharks were completely dominant in their game and they were demonstrating some very patient, thoughtful play.  Lots of confident ball control and heads up spacing.  The outstanding players of the game for me were Tyler and Sam A. and Zachary.  Tyler is becoming more aggressive and goal-hungry every game.  He had several really good runs with the ball at his feet where he beat the last defender one-on-one then only had the keeper to face.  One of those led to a brilliant shot/pass in to Austin who sure-footedly put the ball in the net.
      Sam A. shows just an amazing sense of how to move alongside of and interact with his teammates.  He rarely tries to steal the ball from another Shark but rather always knows to get just a few steps out ahead of whoever is bringing the ball up for the team so that he's in an advantageous position.  He runs sideways and backwards with ease, always keeping his eye on the ball.  And in Saturday's game I saw him switch fields intentionally a few times, crossing back over Sam Eppley's path to regain the best position.  That is, when Sam E. would cut to his right, toward Sam A., then Sam A. would quickly run back to the left side of the field, keeping himself open as an option for Sam E. to pass or at least to be in a better position for a rebound.  The first time he did it it could have been a fluke but by the third time it was obvious that he was intentionally playing actively away from the ball, thinking about where to be to take advantage.  Amazing.
      Zachary always wants to start out in a defender/midfield position so this Saturday I told him he could start out there but that if the ball came to him he had to settle it then try to beat at least one defender with his dribble before passing the ball up.  He did so repeatedly and was as cool as he could be about it.  He's got great peripheral vision and most of the time when he would make a couple of moves to get clear of a defender he would then immediately find a teammate in the open and make a sharp pass.  I'm pushing all the kids this session to really test themselves with their ball control skills and to always try to take on the defense with the ball at their feet but I want to always let them know too that their vision for the field and for seeing opportunities opening up ahead of them is a great skill to have too.  Great work Zach.
     Elizabeth got a goal which was great to see.  She's a natural at seeing those opportunities open up suddenly so she likes to hang back at the periphery when we're attacking, just waiting for a loose ball that she can dribble in for a shot.  Austin had a pair of goals that I saw, including the one I mentioned above.  The second was an impressive blast from the penalty area line that he let go of after dribbling past at least two defenders.  His ability to get off a quick shot is a great advantage for him.
     Sam Eppley had at least two goals and played a nice quarter in at keeper.  Jackson had to leave early but his time in during the first half was brilliant, both in keeper and on the attack.
     Thank you all again for your patience with me as my Coaching schedule keeps me running from one venue to another.  Thanks for Mike Seng for taking the team for me the last quarter.  This coming Saturday I'll be out of town coaching my son's team in Richmond so Mike will have the team the entire game.  I hate to miss even one as they are playing so well right now.  Owen's team, the Dragons, are doing well too and I'm having a great time with them putting so much of what I've learned coaching the Sharks to work in guiding another group of enthusiastic players.  Here are a few pictures of the Dragons in action this past weekend.